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Credit for this article to Retreat Central (https://www.retreatcentral.com). Retreat Central is a great resource for retreat planning including searching for centers in your area. Used with permission.

The question so often asked of women is “how do you do it all?” There are countless articles, interviews and even movies with this theme.

I think the question behind the question is how we do more with the same or fewer resources than our fellow humans, men. We both share the same number of hours in a day but somehow women seem to get so many more things accomplished. The question of how we spend our time and attention is a terrific theme for a ladies retreat. Women’s retreats are designed to enable us to take a step back, recharge and refocus on what really matters in our lives. There are many ways the theme of “doing it all” or “doing more with less” can be incorporated into retreats.

Let’s look at the key ingredients of every retreat:

Lodging

Food

Program

LodgingChoosing a facility with a lovely environment is essential to this theme. It does not need to be fancy or expensive, but it does need to be well-thought out in design and hopefully in a beautiful environment. To bring the theme to life through accommodations, share with participants early on why this particular site was selected. Make sure the facility managers help you access all the features of the property. They know all the best uses and surprises! For example, ask to host a break out or cocktail hour under the trees or in a special enclave. If there is a nice chapel or outdoor amphitheater, utilize it for moments of sharing and group building. Most retreat centers are significant less expensive than hotels and in fact “do more with less”.

FoodMeals are a really easy way to bring forward “doing it all”. Have the chefs share some of their tips for cost-savings and kitchen efficiencies. Great chefs never have food waste during preparation and they have amazing ideas participants can apply these secrets at home. You can set up food-based programs for exploring creativity and/or group building with real life exercises such as building “lunches to go” with only seven ingredients or developing a weekly meal plan that can be prepared in less than 30 minutes/night.

ProgramThe theme goes straight to the heart through the program. Through the program the women will bond with each other and build a lifelong connection to your organization (church). The program should build in intensity beginning with sharing and ending on commitment. For example, begin the weekend with each woman talking about their daily lives - what are they like? Are they similar to each other? Then move to tips and ideas of ways they can help each other feel strong and stable in their daily lives. Finally, end with each person choosing one thing to strengthen and one thing to drop along with a plan for checking in with each other regularly before the next retreat.

These ideas can help the women you serve appreciate themselves and your organization for years ahead.

By Jaynie Schutlz, Co-Founder, Retreat Central Jaynie Schultz created Garrett Creek Ranch with her mother more than 20 years ago. She served as the founding Director of Sales and Marketing and is involved in many non-profit organizations and leadership development programs.